Discussion

Sunday Graduation dinner in Providence?

Hi. There is a group of 6 of us who want a nice place for a graduation dinner in Providence for Sunday night. Two of the people in our group have somewhat conservative tastes (meat/pasta/potatoes etc.). Any suggestions?

There is a block that is like a Little Italy and a restaurant that starts with a Z. It is fabulous. They have a dish called spaghetti shui shui and I still dream about it; have not been able to create it myself though it was simple ingredients; hot pasta perfectly al dente; with small sweet tomatoes and garlic and fresh basil. Very reasonable pricing and wonderful wine list.Just found it; it is Zooma and can be found at zoomari.net. Honestly, my hubby and I are foodies, and we both rave about the one dining experience there.

If it's this Sunday, which is also Mother's Day, I would suggest that a party of 6 which does not already have reservations somewhere nice will be more or less out of luck.

As to the other reply, the "Little Italy"-like street is Atwells Ave, which has a variety of choices, both old-school Italo-American and otherwise. Personally, I would not put Zooma among them -- nice bar scene, but pretty pedestrian food and a second-string staff on a Sunday. I had an unpleasant experience with the food there with a group of 6 on a spring Sunday, for which the front-of-house staff offered no amends and the owner/manager failed even to respond to a letter I wrote. I will not be back and do not recommend it to anyone. If the OP wants conservative meat dishes, Providence Prime is about a block west. What's your budget?

Thanks for all the help so far! Budget is not much of a problem. The dinner is for May 30 so even though it's graduation weekend we are hoping there are still some possibilities left. We will have a car, but don't want to drive too far away. My Dad and Brother-in-law often like more traditional fare - the Providence Prime definitely seems along the right lines but from their website it looks like they aren't open on Sundays so I need other possibilities. Thanks!

I totally agree about leaving the city. Grad weekend is pure insanity, and, as dagwood mentioned, I doubt the OP can get a reservation anywhere at this point. For example, my un-named restaurant has been booked for over six months.

Go to Caffe Itri in Cranston. It's Italian, but they definitely have steak, pork, veal, etc. for the plain eaters. Also, their wine list is awesome and fairly priced. It's about a 15 minute drive, which is probably less time than the OP will spend trying to park in the city.

I agree to get out of the city and head to Cranston. "Spain" is great, as is "Cafe Itri" , though the acoustics in Cafe Itri has much to be desired, since you can barely hear the person across from you speaking when the restaurant is filled.

Another option is to head to Bristol or Warren - again, not too far from your graduation.